Switching Places
by Lady-Nuriko
Summary: Important documents from their latest excursion has Hanji working overtime as usual. Someone else seems interested in what they found as well, too bad she isn't into sharing. Rated M. Dark themes. LeviHan pairing.


AN: This is my first LeviHan fic, hopefully its not too OOC. Adult themes of torture and mention of rape. Hope you all enjoy. :)

* * *

It was well past midnight and Hanji found unable to pull herself away from her research in order to sleep. The familiar feeling of waking up in the morning drooling over a book or document that she had lost consciousness to hours earlier was equal to any bed rest lately. She felt like she was close to something, notes hinting at something that remained just out of her reach. One more night… it was always just one more night…

The lamp on her desk flicked as the cool night air passed through the open window. The cool breeze helped her think, helped her keep her mind focused and away from the sleep she deprived of it. The notes were retrieved from the latest expedition, from a remote region they previously hadn't been able to get near due to the large surplus of titans. Levi had made good on his promise of finding a way through.

If it hadn't been for her years of soldiers training and sharp intuition, she would have passed off the flickering of the lamplight as the breeze but it had all gone quiet moments before. Nor the wind, nor a bug made a sound. Hanji looked up from her desk at the shadows that loomed in her doorway, she often left the door open when studying at night, she was never disturbed and could always hear when someone was approaching. The empty halls echoed every footstep and whisper. Her eyes narrowed as she addressed them, her tone sharp and cold.

"What are you doing here? Curfew was-"

* * *

Levi had taken his time coming down for breakfast, a feat he would do often when tasked with something he didn't want to do- like training the new recruits in drills. He and his team had just returned yesterday from a successful mission and Hanji was making sure he stayed busy until their findings could be properly accessed. On his way down and in an effort to avoid his duties he took a detour that led him by Hanjis room. No doubt Four Eyes was still reading.

 _Seriously… why do I need to train them?_

"Hey! Shitty Glasses, you still awake?" He leaned against the wall outside her room and knocked loudly on the partially opened door. After not hearing a response he casually stuck his head in and glanced around for her. The room was a mess. No surprise. He inwardly cringed, steeled himself and walked into the nuclear explosion zone. Books were scattered everywhere, papers strewn about the floor. There was at one point a bed but it had long since been used as a make shift table, with piles of papers in what he guessed was an order that only made sense to her. The room was completely empty of any human presence.

 _Maybe she went to get breakfast?_

As he turned to leave he paused, noting the lamp that lay on its side on the floor, the glass casing was shattered and pieces of ash littered the area. She was messy but not careless. It was than he regarded the desk itself, the chair he would often find her asleep in and drooling on the table was tipped over to mirror the lamp. Something wasn't right, turning on his heel he left the room, as he left a soldier returning from breakfast most likely passed by. Levi grabbed him by the collar and shoved the larger man against the wall beside the room. The soldier gave him a wide eyed look of horror.

"You. Stay here. Don't move until I return."

* * *

The sudden assault of icy water landing in her face woke her up harshly. Her body bolted upright until her face hit something that sent her sprawling back to the ground. She was groggy and confused but her face told her she had just been punched.

"You stupid bitch!" The voice roared and her body convulsed as his foot made contact to her stomach and ribs several times, her hands were bound behind her back and could therefore only steel herself against the assault until another man interceded, pulling his friend back.

"Hey! Easy man! If she dies before, it's our neck on the line."

Hanji lifted her face and squinted up at her assailants, their blurred forms stood over her as they spoke to one another.

 _Glasses… shit! What happened to my glasses?_

She squinted around the room, hoping to spot the vital eyewear.

"Oi. Commander." The second man knelt down in front of her face and regarded her seriously. Hanji directed her gaze at him, squinting to try and bring focus to the face. Their voices weren't familiar to her. "Listen, tell us what we want to know and we'll return you with no further injuries."

The commander remained silent for a moment as if weighing the options given to her, before being unable to contain herself and she started laughing uncontrollably, it caused sharp pains in her stomach but it couldn't be helped.

"Seriously? You expect me to talk just like that? Ha-ha, you boys are pretty green at this aren't you?" Hanji laughed again as the man moved in for what she could only assume was another blow but then backed off.

"Fine, be stubborn. We aren't who you'll be dealing with." The two men left the room. She heard the door close and a lock set into place. One of them, the latter from her best guess paused briefly outside the door and glanced in through the small barred window. "Also, in case you were wondering…" The distinct sound of breaking glass could be heard followed by something hitting the floor in several pieces.

* * *

It was late into the evening when she heard footsteps outside the cell. She had fallen into a restless sleep as she tried to stay warm and focus on anything she might hear that could tell her who these people were. She cursed her poor eyesight for the umpteenth time that day.

Her thoughts drifted back to that night in her room. The men that entered were dressed in Survey Corp gear but their faces were unfamiliar to her. She was immediately on guard; her eyes remained focused on the two men, her hands still clutching the research notes she had been poring over all night as she waited for their intention.

" _Can I help you boys? Are you lost?"_ Hanji recalled the words she spoke. _"You seem to have found yourself in some of my men's clothes and in my private quarters well after hours, how daring."_

The fact that she was still alive told her that what they were after was what she had made sure they couldn't have. It was quick thinking and she hated herself for having to do it but she only had a moment to react before they were upon her. As the men made their move, coming at her from either side, her hand with the notes shot out towards the lamp and in one deft movement dropped the parchment into the open flame, which caught quickly and was reduced to ash before the first man reached her. He reached out for her but Hanji sidestepped, knocking over the chair into the path of the second one and delivered a solid blow into the man's jaw, he stumbled back and started to wheel around onto the other one when his arm wrapped around her neck. Hanji took a deliberate step backwards, forcing the man to follow lead than with all her strength threw her head back, connecting with his nose. The man stumbled back but didn't release his grip on Hanji despite the pain. His senses compromised he tripped backwards over the chair and fell to the floor, dragging Hanji down on top of him. His partner had recovered and was making his way to them as Hanji struggled to free herself from the entanglement of arms and legs. The man standing had taken out a cloth during her struggles and had it in her face before she could react. A free hand shot out to the man, grabbing the arm that held steadfast to her face and twisted as hard as she could. The world slowed down, the voice seemed distant as she started to loose consciousness.

" _Just breathe, take it easy…"_

"Hey Commander, time for you to come play." The man from earlier grabbed her by the shirt, bringing her mind back to the present and pulled her to her feet. She could feel the point of a blade at the small of her back as a countermeasure to assure her good behavior.

"Only if you ask real nice, I don't normally play with your kind."

The man lead her down the hall and into another room, the fact that everything was blurry meant she had a hard time keeping her footing in the unfamiliar territory and almost tripped several times. She was shoved down into a chair that to her expert knowledge in torture she knew to be bolted to the ground. _Ah just like good ol' times… although I'm not used to being on this end of things._

Another man stepped into the room and took up a chair across from her.

"Now Commander Hanji, I'm going to get straight to the point."

"No, I'm sorry. While I do appreciate the fine treatment so far, I'll just never feel that way about you."

The man chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "Yes, well, we will see how long your good humor lasts… now tell me why you think you're here?"

"'cause you can't get a date otherwise?"

Hanji's head flung sharply to the side, her mouth filled with a copper taste and she grinned. This was all child's play. Over the years she and Levi had performed countless interrogations on people, she knew what to ask, how to play the game, and she certainly wouldn't lose to this guy.

"Tell me what you discovered in those notes!?" He leaned menacingly over her, a pose that was supposed to be intimidating but to someone who couldn't see two feet in front of her face only looked ridiculous.

Hanji remained silent, her iron will could hold out. There was nothing he could do that she wasn't prepared for.

After several hours Hanji was dumped back into her cell, her face covered in bruises, blood seeped from fresh cuts across her body and several of her fingers were broken. She lay exhausted on the floor, her clothes damp from sweat and blood and cut in places that corresponded with her wounds. Through it all she refused to give them anything save of the occasional smart ass response. Those took energy and it was best to conserve her willpower. They were just getting started.

Surely someone has noticed her missing and will be able to find her.

They were keeping her alive, food and water was sent to her cell once a day to keep her strength up for the torture.

"I can keep this up longer than you have time Commander. I swear on my honor that if you tell us what you and Levi found, I'll let you live."

"Okay…" Gasped Hanji between breathes, her head hung forward, letting a trail of blood run from her mouth. They had been going for over an hour now and were gradually increasing their level of torture. "…I'll tell you."

The man raised his head in surprise from the instruments he was playing with. "Well that's better." He held onto the scalpel in his hands and approached her, as he did Hanji lifted her head, a motion that was getting harder to do each time.

"We found…" She let the sentence drag out as long as she could, something she was only half feigning. "…a shit load of Titans." The next words from her mouth was a series of screams and unintelligibly curses as the scalpel he held in his hands was driven straight into her shoulder.

"Enough of you!"

The stab wound missed anything vital, from her knowledge and the fact that she hadn't sustained anything major wounds told her he had some degree of medical knowledge. She knew it wasn't wise to agitate him but she had already resigned herself to death. If this kept up longer her body wouldn't be able to keep going. She was a scientist, sure she could handle herself in a fight or two but endless days of torture were a different matter.

During her isolation in her cell she had already managed to rule out escaping, there were guards outside the door, and there was nothing inside the room she could use to her advantage. She settled for doing minor first aid on her digits, resettling them as best she could and saving her strength. Would she die today? Or tomorrow? She leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. Her thoughts drifted to him. Was he looking for her? Did he even know she was in trouble?

The voices approaching woke her up. Her eyes opened and she blinked a few times to try and focus her eyes before realizing it was futile. She pulled herself up, using the wall and her wrists for balance and stood defensively as the men entered.

"This is your final chance. Tell us what we want to know and we won't have to follow through with the next phase."

She responded only with a silent defiant glare. _I'm sorry Levi, I wish I could have gotten the information to you._

* * *

When he found her, the image made his blood boil. He clenched his fists in anger and ordered everyone save for his trusted men out of the room. She was lying on the floor of a cell, a small pool of blood formed from her open wrist. The short rise and falls of her chest told him she was still alive. Her shirt was ripped open, exposing her breasts and his pants were missing. He knelt down beside her, wrapping and applying pressure to her open wrist before removing his cloak and draping it over her exposed body. Her eyes fluttered open weakly but she said nothing. Hannes approached from behind him, placing a hand on the smaller man's shoulder. Levi nodded and he stood up, allowing Hannes to pick up the frail body and carry it to the waiting coach.

He had spent the better part of two days at her bedside as she slept. She hadn't regained consciousness yet despite the medic's administrations to her and the resetting of her bones. She looked like hell but she was strong so he knew physically she'd be fine. He was more concerned about her mental state.

It hadn't taken long to find those responsible for her kidnapping. Unfortunately for them, Levi was much better at extracting information in a much quicker manner than they were.

He leaned back in a chair, arms crossed as he spent the time idly waiting. If she asked he would never admit the real number. The soft groan from the bed caused him to sit upright. The woman slowly opened her eyes; it took a while for her to adjust to the brightness of the room.

"Take it easy Shitty Glasses." A warm hand covered hers and her body seemed to tense. Her eyes shot open and she tried to sit upright but a set of hands grabbed her as gently as he could and eased her back to the bed. "You're safe."

"Don't- look… Please-" He gazed down at her and watched as he saw her mentally piecing everything together. Her eyes burned and she couldn't help the tears that streamed down her face and turned to ugly sobs.

"You're pretty stupid, and reckless." Levi commented as he moved to the side of the bed, taking her hands gently in his, she allowed him to help her up and he pulled her into an embrace and held her quietly as she buried her face into his collar. "But this wasn't your fault. Don't even think that it was. You hear me Shitty Glasses?"

Her body relaxed after several moments and her sobbing ebbed until she lay motionless and exhausted against him. He had no intention of moving her until she was ready.

"Hey… Levi…" The muffled voice spoke from somewhere near his collarbone followed by a sniff that sounded like it contained a lot of snot. He cringed but let it go. The young man gave a small 'hm' indicating he was listening. "I don't think I like being on the other end of things…"

Levi gave a small nod and ran his hand over her back reassuringly. "Shut up…"

Hanji pulled back, wiping her face with a section of the bedsheet and gave him the best smile she could manage. The gesture tore at his heart; even now she was still trying to make him feel better. "Get some rest. I'll find you something to eat."

He stood up, turning to leave but was cut short when a hand grabbed the edge of his dress shirt. "Please don't leave." She whispered, her bandaged hand clawing feebly at him. He let out an annoyed sigh and placed her hand back under the covers. "Move." He gestured to the bed and she scooted over to make some room for him. Levi lay down next to her, positioning himself so he was propped up on pillows, allowing her to curl up next to him like a child, her head resting in the crook of his arm. For just today he would allow himself to be whatever she needed him to be.

"You got snot all over my collar… Shitty Glasses…"


End file.
